Chelmsford High School is a public, coeducational high school founded in 1917. The current building is located in North Chelmsford, Massachusetts, United States, and was built in 1974. Before 1974 the high school was located in the current McCarthy Middle School building. It serves as the public high school for students in grades nine through 12 and is ranked among the top 500 schools in the nation. It is part of a central campus that includes four of the town's seven schools. The three other schools at the central campus are the C. Edith McCarthy Middle School, the Col. Moses S. Parker Middle School and the Charles D. Harrington Elementary School. The town's three other schools, located throughout the town, are the Byam Elementary School, the Center Elementary School and the South Row Elementary School. Chelmsford's fifth elementary school, Westlands School, closed in 2008 due to budgetary reasons.
House Structure
The school is based on a three-house system. The houses are named after Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne and John Greenleaf Whittier, three famous New England writers. When the school was built, there was an additional house named for Emily Dickinson. After a decade, the school branched out from the house system; the classes were no longer strictly divided into house hallways. Now, the house structure mainly serves administrative functions. Each house has two to three guidance counselors, a dean and an office. All students are assigned a house the year preceding their entrance into the school.
Renovations
The school has recently undergone extensive renovation. The renovations included a complete overhaul of all existing science classrooms as well as the construction of a second science wing in the space formerly used for district administration offices. New ceilings and floor tiles, electrical and HVAC upgrades, and a 1,000-seat state-of-the-art Performing Arts Center were added as well. The construction, completed in 2007, gave Chelmsford High School its own auditorium for the first time in its 33-year history. Previously, any performances put on by the high school were held in the 600-seat auditorium of neighboring McCarthy Middle School, the town's former high school. The new P.A.C. serves as a forum for functions such as the performances by the school's music and theater programs and various assemblies. As of May 28, 2014 the P.A.C. has been named the "Carl Rondina Performing Arts Center" in honor of longtime chorus teacher and music director Carl Rondina who recently retired. Further facility upgrades completed in 2008 include new enclosed stairwells at the end of the two large classroom wings to improve building flow from floor to floor, as well as a renovated library media center. New lockers have also been installed in all sections of the building.
Beginning in 2016-17, CHS entered into a cooperative girls hockey team with neighboring Billerica. Beginning in 2018-19, CHS entered into a cooperative girls gymnastics team with neighboring Billerica and Tyngsboro.
